German electric vehicle (EV) dealerships saw declining sales in August, with official data showing a 68.8 percent drop in EV registrations from the same period last year.
As part of a wider belt-tightening, Berlin abruptly ended EV incentives in December, which included purchase grants of several thousand euros. A few months earlier, the government had already ended the subsidy scheme for corporate fleet buyers, which account for around two-thirds of the German car market.
Mandy Kuntz, Managing Director of Auto Sauer, voiced concerns over the soaring maintenance costs of EVs for customers.
"Selling electric vehicles is definitely a difficult business. They are fundamentally too expensive. Their cost performances are low [given the rising prices.] Customers need certain infrastructure and charging capacity, and that is not possible in some areas," she said.
Meanwhile, Chinese EVs are no longer the cheap option they once were in Germany, after being hit with provisional tariffs by the EU, which further lowers consumers' purchasing interests.
"Too expensive, big, too little range, too little availability, charging time is far too long," Munich resident Hans Coppermayer surely won't consider buying an EV.
"I think at this moment I will not do it. Maybe I will wait more and the technology is going forward," said another Munich resident named Gina Martínez.
Not everyone agrees with the EU's move, particularly large sections of Germany's auto industry, who are most at risk of potential counter actions by China.
According to the German automotive association, exports of passenger cars and components to China were up to four times higher than the value of Chinese imports.
It is unclear whether joint ventures between Germany and China will be subject to the new tariffs.
"The E MINI from BMW, the Electric MINI, the pure BEV (battery electric vehicle) car is produced in China with Great Wall and then imported into Europe. The EV, Smart, is a joint venture car between Mercedes-Benz and Geely. They are all imported. So how are they then counted in? Because thats not really clear. All the relations, especially on the automotive side are more German/Chinese, so no other countries have the implications as Germany does," said Beatrix Keim, Director of Business Development and China Projects at Center for Automotive Research.
The EU's 27 member countries will shortly vote on whether to keep the new tariffs in place over the next five years. As for EVs, both customers and sales managers alike will clearly need a lot more convincing -- if the EU is to meet its target of phasing out the sale of combustion powered vehicles by 2035.
Germany sees drop in EV sales in August due to rising car prices
